World News Story

09 January 2009 05:44 BST

Lebanon on brink of civil war as bloodshed intensifies

Deadly fighting in the Lebanese capital Beirut has entered its third day as the country inches towards civil war.

At least 11 people have been killed in the clashes, which broke out after Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the government had "declared war" on the pro-Iranian group.

According to the al-Jazeera news agency, automatic rifle fire and grenade explosions were heard in Beirut on Friday, with the streets of west Beirut deserted as Hizbullah gunmen wrestled control from pro-government militia.

The internecine fighting is the worst seen in the country since the 1975-1990 civil war.

UN special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen has already told the security council Lebanon is facing its worst internal crisis for two decades.

On Thursday Sheikh Nasrallah said the government's closure of Hizbullah's private communications network was tantamount to a declaration of war.

"The hand raised against us, we will cut it off," he told Hizbullah members in Beirut via videolink.

His claim has led to parliamentary majority leader Saad al-Hariri, the son of assassinated former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri, to urge an immediate end to the fighting.

"What fate are you dragging the Muslims to - are you dragging us back to civil war?

"My appeal to you and to myself as well. the appeal of all Lebanon, is to stop the slide toward civil war, to stop the language of arms and lawlessness."

Mr al-Hariri is proposing a compromise deal which would see the neutral army, headed up by president-elect Michel Sleiman, called in to mediate.

But Hizbullah wants the government's declaration rescinded immediately.

Lebanon has been without a president since Emile Lahoud stepped down last November.

General Sleiman has been agreed as a compromise candidate in theory, but 18 parliamentary sessions to formally select him have been cancelled in rows over the makeup of his cabinet.